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Belujon P, Lodge DJ, Grace AA. Aberrant striatal plasticity is specifically associated with dyskinesia following levodopa treatment. Mov Disord 2010; 25:1568-76. [PMID: 20623773 DOI: 10.1002/mds.23245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic levodopa treatment for Parkinson's disease often results in the development of abnormal involuntary movement, known as L-dopa-induced dyskinesia (LIDs). Studies suggest that LIDs may be associated with aberrant corticostriatal plasticity. Using in vivo extracellular recordings from identified Type I and Type II medium spiny striatal neurons, chronic L-dopa treatment was found to produce abnormal corticostriatal information processing. Specifically, after chronic L-dopa treatment in dopamine-depleted rats, there was a transition from a cortically evoked long-term depression (LTD) to a complementary but opposing form of plasticity, long-term potentiation, in Type II "indirect" pathway neurons. In contrast, LTD could still be induced in Type I neurons. Interestingly, the one parameter that correlated best with dyskinesias was the inability to de-depress established LTD in Type I medium spiny striatal neurons. Taken as a whole, we propose that the induction of LIDs is due, at least in part, to an aberrant induction of plasticity within the Type II indirect pathway neurons combined with an inability to de-depress established plastic responses in Type I neurons. Such information is critical for understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying one of the major caveats to L-dopa therapy.
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Matthews GDK, Martin CA, Grace AA, Zhang Y, Huang CLH. Regional variations in action potential alternans in isolated murine Scn5a (+/-) hearts during dynamic pacing. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2010; 200:129-46. [PMID: 20384594 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2010.02138.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
AIM clinical observations suggest that alternans in action potential (AP) characteristics presages breakdown of normal ordered cardiac electrical activity culminating in ventricular arrhythmogenesis. We compared such temporal nonuniformities in monophasic action potential (MAP) waveforms in left (LV) and right ventricular (RV) epicardia and endocardia of Langendorff-perfused murine wild-type (WT), and Scn5a(+/-) hearts modelling Brugada syndrome (BrS) for the first time. METHODS a dynamic pacing protocol imposed successively incremented steady pacing rates between 5.5 and 33 Hz. A signal analysis algorithm detected sequences of >10 beats showing alternans. Results were compared before and following the introduction of flecainide (10 microm) and quinidine (5 microm) known to exert pro- and anti-arrhythmic effects in BrS. RESULTS sustained and transient amplitude and duration alternans were both frequently followed by ventricular ectopic beats and ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. Diastolic intervals (DIs) that coincided with onsets of transient (tr) or sustained (ss) alternans in MAP duration (DI*) and amplitude (DI') were determined. Kruskal-Wallis tests followed by Bonferroni-corrected Mann-Whitney U-tests were applied to these DI results sorted by recording site, pharmacological conditions or experimental populations. WT hearts showed no significant heterogeneities in any DI. Untreated Scn5a (+/-) hearts showed earlier onsets of transient but not sustained duration alternans in LV endocardium compared with RV endocardium or LV epicardium. Flecainide administration caused earlier onsets of both transient and sustained duration alternans selectively in the RV epicardium in the Scn5a (+/-) hearts. CONCLUSION these findings in a genetic model thus implicate RV epicardial changes in the arrhythmogenicity produced by flecainide challenge in previously asymptomatic clinical BrS.
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Jeevaratnam K, Zhang Y, Guzadhur L, Duehmke RM, Lei M, Grace AA, Huang CLH. Differences in sino-atrial and atrio-ventricular function with age and sex attributable to the Scn5a+/- mutation in a murine cardiac model. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2010; 200:23-33. [PMID: 20331542 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2010.02110.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIM To investigate the interacting effects of age and sex on electrocardiographic (ECG) features of Scn5a(+/-) mice modelling Brugada syndrome. METHODS Recordings were performed on anaesthetized wild-type (WT) and Scn5a(+/-) mice and differences attributable to these risk factors statistically stratified. RESULTS Scn5a(+/-) exerted sex-dependent effects upon sino-atrial function that only became apparent with age. RR intervals were greater in old male than in old female Scn5a(+/-). Atrio-ventricular (AV) conduction was slower in young female mice, whether WT and Scn5a(+/-), than the corresponding young male WT and Scn5a(+/-). However, PR intervals lengthened with age in male but not in female Scn5a(+/-) giving the greatest PR intervals in old male Scn5a(+/-) compared with either old male WT or young male Scn5a(+/-) mice. In contrast, PR intervals were similar in old female Scn5a(+/-) and in old female WT. QTc was prolonged in Scn5a(+/-) compared with WT, and female Scn5a(+/-) compared with female WT. Age-dependent alterations in durations of ventricular repolarization relative to WT affected male but not female Scn5a(+/-). Thus, T-wave durations were greater in old male Scn5a(+/-) compared with old male WT, but indistinguishable between old female Scn5a(+/-) and old female WT. Finally, analysis for combined interactions of genotype, age and sex demonstrated no effects on P wave and QRS durations and QTc intervals. CONCLUSION We demonstrate for the first time that age, sex and genotype exert both independent and interacting ECG effects. The latter suggest alterations in cardiac pacemaker function, atrio-ventricular conduction and ventricular repolarization greatest in ageing male Scn5a(+/-).
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Lodge DJ, Grace AA. Developmental pathology, dopamine, stress and schizophrenia. Int J Dev Neurosci 2010; 29:207-13. [PMID: 20727962 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2010.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2010] [Revised: 08/11/2010] [Accepted: 08/12/2010] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychological stress is a contributing factor for a wide variety of neuropsychiatric diseases including substance use disorders, anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. However, it has not been conclusively determined how stress augments the symptoms of these diseases. Here we review evidence that the ventral hippocampus may be a site of convergence whereby a number of seemingly discrete risk factors, including stress, may interact to precipitate psychosis in schizophrenia. Specifically, aberrant hippocampal activity has been demonstrated to underlie both the elevated dopamine neuron activity and associated behavioral hyperactivity to dopamine agonists in a verified animal model of schizophrenia. In addition, stress, psychostimulant drug use, prenatal infection and select genetic polymorphisms all appear to augment ventral hippocampal function that may therefore exaggerate or precipitate psychotic symptoms. Such information is critical for our understanding into the pathology of psychiatric disease with the ultimate aim being the development of more effective therapeutics.
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Abstract
Dysfunction within the dopamine system has been the predominant hypothesized cause of schizophrenia for some time; however, there is little anatomical or postmortem evidence showing that the roots of this disorder are to be found within the dopaminergic neurons. Instead, the dopamine system appears to be dysregulated due to pathological influences from other structures. Recent postmortem and imaging studies have looked to the hippocampus as a potential site of this pathology. Our studies using a developmental animal model of schizophrenia found hyperactivity in the hippocampus likely drives the disruption in dopamine system function. This overactivity appears to be due to the functional loss of short axon interneurons that control the activity of the primary output neurons of the hippocampus. These data suggest that a more effective treatment of schizophrenia may be to normalize hippocampal function rather than block dopamine receptors. Moreover, given the high sensitivity of the hippocampus to stress-induced damage and the fact that stress is a risk factor for schizophrenia, controlling stress in the premorbid state may be an effective preventative measure to circumvent the transition to psychosis.
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Martin CA, Zhang Y, Grace AA, L-H Huang C. 001 In vivo electrocardiograms in a murine model of Brugada syndrome show ST elevation, atrioventricular block and increased QTC dispersion. BRITISH HEART JOURNAL 2010. [DOI: 10.1136/hrt.2010.195941.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Martin CA, Grace AA, Huang CLH. 004 Dispersion of refractoriness promotes arrhythmogenesis in a murine model of Brugada syndrome. BRITISH HEART JOURNAL 2010. [DOI: 10.1136/hrt.2010.195941.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Zhang Y, Fraser JA, Schwiening C, Zhang Y, Killeen MJ, Grace AA, Huang CLH. Acute atrial arrhythmogenesis in murine hearts following enhanced extracellular Ca(2+) entry depends on intracellular Ca(2+) stores. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2010; 198:143-58. [PMID: 19886909 PMCID: PMC3763207 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2009.02055.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Aim To investigate the effect of increases in extracellular Ca2+ entry produced by the L-type Ca2+ channel agonist FPL-64176 (FPL) upon acute atrial arrhythmogenesis in intact Langendorff-perfused mouse hearts and its dependence upon diastolic Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticular Ca2+ stores. Methods Confocal microscope studies of Fluo-3 fluorescence in isolated atrial myocytes were performed in parallel with electrophysiological examination of Langendorff-perfused mouse hearts. Results Atrial myocytes stimulated at 1 Hz and exposed to FPL (0.1 μm) initially showed (<10 min) frequent, often multiple, diastolic peaks following the evoked Ca2+ transients whose amplitudes remained close to control values. With continued pacing (>10 min) this reverted to a regular pattern of evoked transients with increased amplitudes but in which diastolic peaks were absent. Higher FPL concentrations (1.0 μm) produced sustained and irregular patterns of cytosolic Ca2+ activity, independent of pacing. Nifedipine (0.5 μm), and caffeine (1.0 mm) and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) (0.15 μm) pre-treatments respectively produced immediate and gradual reductions in the F/F0 peaks. Such nifedipine and caffeine, or CPA pre-treatments, abolished, or reduced, the effects of 0.1 and 1.0 μm FPL on cytosolic Ca2+ signals. FPL (1.0 μm) increased the incidence of atrial tachycardia and fibrillation in intact Langendorff-perfused hearts without altering atrial effective refractory periods. These effects were inhibited by nifedipine and caffeine, and reduced by CPA. Conclusion Enhanced extracellular Ca2+ entry exerts acute atrial arrhythmogenic effects that is nevertheless dependent upon diastolic Ca2+ release. These findings complement reports that associate established, chronic, atrial arrhythmogenesis with decreased overall inward Ca2+ current.
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Hakim P, Brice N, Thresher R, Lawrence J, Zhang Y, Jackson AP, Grace AA, Huang CLH. Scn3b knockout mice exhibit abnormal sino-atrial and cardiac conduction properties. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2010; 198:47-59. [PMID: 19796257 PMCID: PMC3763209 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2009.02048.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Aim In contrast to extensive reports on the roles of Nav1.5 α-subunits, there have been few studies associating the β-subunits with cardiac arrhythmogenesis. We investigated the sino-atrial and conduction properties in the hearts of Scn3b−/− mice. Methods The following properties were compared in the hearts of wild-type (WT) and Scn3b−/− mice: (1) mRNA expression levels of Scn3b, Scn1b and Scn5a in atrial tissue. (2) Expression of the β3 protein in isolated cardiac myocytes. (3) Electrocardiographic recordings in intact anaesthetized preparations. (4) Bipolar electrogram recordings from the atria of spontaneously beating and electrically stimulated Langendorff-perfused hearts. Results Scn3b mRNA was expressed in the atria of WT but not Scn3b−/− hearts. This was in contrast to similar expression levels of Scn1b and Scn5a mRNA. Immunofluorescence experiments confirmed that the β3 protein was expressed in WT and absent in Scn3b−/− cardiac myocytes. Lead I electrocardiograms from Scn3b−/− mice showed slower heart rates, longer P wave durations and prolonged PR intervals than WT hearts. Spontaneously beating Langendorff-perfused Scn3b−/− hearts demonstrated both abnormal atrial electrophysiological properties and evidence of partial or complete dissociation of atrial and ventricular activity. Atrial burst pacing protocols induced atrial tachycardia and fibrillation in all Scn3b−/− but hardly any WT hearts. Scn3b−/− hearts also demonstrated significantly longer sinus node recovery times than WT hearts. Conclusion These findings demonstrate, for the first time, that a deficiency in Scn3b results in significant atrial electrophysiological and intracardiac conduction abnormalities, complementing the changes in ventricular electrophysiology reported on an earlier occasion.
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Sesack SR, Grace AA. Cortico-Basal Ganglia reward network: microcircuitry. Neuropsychopharmacology 2010; 35:27-47. [PMID: 19675534 PMCID: PMC2879005 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2009.93] [Citation(s) in RCA: 717] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2009] [Revised: 06/16/2009] [Accepted: 07/01/2009] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Many of the brain's reward systems converge on the nucleus accumbens, a region richly innervated by excitatory, inhibitory, and modulatory afferents representing the circuitry necessary for selecting adaptive motivated behaviors. The ventral subiculum of the hippocampus provides contextual and spatial information, the basolateral amygdala conveys affective influence, and the prefrontal cortex provides an integrative impact on goal-directed behavior. The balance of these afferents is under the modulatory influence of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area. This midbrain region receives its own complex mix of excitatory and inhibitory inputs, some of which have only recently been identified. Such afferent regulation positions the dopamine system to bias goal-directed behavior based on internal drives and environmental contingencies. Conditions that result in reward promote phasic dopamine release, which serves to maintain ongoing behavior by selectively potentiating ventral subicular drive to the accumbens. Behaviors that fail to produce an expected reward decrease dopamine transmission, which favors prefrontal cortical-driven switching to new behavioral strategies. As such, the limbic reward system is designed to optimize action plans for maximizing reward outcomes. This system can be commandeered by drugs of abuse or psychiatric disorders, resulting in inappropriate behaviors that sustain failed reward strategies. A fuller appreciation of the circuitry interconnecting the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area should serve to advance discovery of new treatment options for these conditions.
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McGinty VB, Grace AA. Activity-dependent depression of medial prefrontal cortex inputs to accumbens neurons by the basolateral amygdala. Neuroscience 2009; 162:1429-36. [PMID: 19460420 PMCID: PMC2884401 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2009] [Revised: 05/11/2009] [Accepted: 05/15/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The encoding of reward-predictive stimuli by neurons in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) depends on integrated synaptic activity from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) afferent inputs. In a previous study, we found that single electrical stimulation pulses applied to the BLA facilitate mPFC-evoked spiking in NAcc neurons in a timing-dependent manner, presumably by a fast glutamatergic mechanism. In the present study, the ability of repetitive BLA activation to modulate synaptic inputs to NAcc neurons through dopamine- or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-dependent mechanisms is characterized. NAcc neurons receiving excitatory input from both mPFC and BLA were recorded in urethane-anesthetized rats. Train stimulation of the BLA depressed mPFC-evoked spiking in these neurons. This was not attributable to mechanisms involving NMDA or dopamine D1, D2, D3 or D5 receptors, since blockade of these receptors did not affect the BLA-mediated depression. BLA-mediated depression was only evident when the BLA stimulation evoked spikes in the recorded neuron; thus, depolarization of the recorded neuron may be critical for this effect. The ability of the BLA to suppress mPFC-to-NAcc signaling may be a mechanism by which normal or pathologically heightened emotional states disrupt goal-directed behavior in favor of emotionally-driven responses.
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Buffalari DM, Grace AA. Anxiogenic modulation of spontaneous and evoked neuronal activity in the basolateral amygdala. Neuroscience 2009; 163:1069-77. [PMID: 19589368 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2009] [Revised: 07/01/2009] [Accepted: 07/02/2009] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala has a well-established role in stress, anxiety, and aversive learning, and anxiolytic and anxiogenic agents are thought to exert their behavioral actions via the amygdala. However, despite extensive behavioral data, the effects of noradrenergic anxiogenic drugs on neuronal activity within the amygdala have not been examined. The present experiments examined how administration of the anxiogenic drug yohimbine affects spontaneous and evoked neuronal activity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) of rats. Yohimbine produced both excitatory and inhibitory effects on neurons of the BLA, with an increase in spontaneous activity being the predominant response in the lateral and basomedial nuclei of the BLA. Furthermore, yohimbine tended to facilitate neuronal responses evoked by electrical stimulation of the entorhinal cortex, with this facilitation seen more often in lateral and basomedial nuclei of the BLA. These data are the first to examine the effects of the anxiogenic agent yohimbine on BLA neuronal activity, and suggest that neurons in specific subnuclei of the amygdala exhibit unique responses to administration of such pharmacological agents.
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Grace AA. Physiology of the normal and dopamine-depleted basal ganglia: insights into levodopa pharmacotherapy. Mov Disord 2009; 23 Suppl 3:S560-9. [PMID: 18781673 DOI: 10.1002/mds.22020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) neurons exist in two activity states; either spontaneously firing or quiescent and nonfiring. When faced with a behavioral demand, the quiescent DA neurons can be activated to facilitate normal motor output. Levodopa appears to increase DA output by activating these nonfiring neurons; as a consequence, DA release is increased, but behavioral demand can now overwhelm the system, potentially leading to the inactivation and on/off phenomena. Levodopa administered in a pulsatile manner may also lead to the induction of synaptic plasticity within the DA systems. In the ventral mesolimbic system, this could lead to the loss of behavioral flexibility, impulsive behavior, and cognitive impairment, whereas in the dorsal nigrostriatal system, this may underlie Levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Continuous administration of Levodopa may circumvent this sensitization process, enabling a therapeutic response without limbic and motor side effects.
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McGinty VB, Grace AA. Timing-dependent regulation of evoked spiking in nucleus accumbens neurons by integration of limbic and prefrontal cortical inputs. J Neurophysiol 2009; 101:1823-35. [PMID: 19193767 DOI: 10.1152/jn.91162.2008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Single nucleus accumbens (NAcc) neurons receive excitatory synaptic input from cortical and limbic structures, and the integration of converging goal- and motivation-related signals in these neurons influences reward-directed actions. While limbic/cortical synaptic input summation has been characterized at subthreshold intensities, the manner in which multiple inputs govern NAcc neuron spike discharge has not been measured and is poorly understood. Single NAcc neurons were recorded in urethane-anesthetized rats, and spiking was evoked by coincident stimulation of two major NAcc afferent regions: the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). BLA input increased NAcc spiking elicited by mPFC stimulation depending on the timing of the stimulation pulses, consistent with the summation of monosynaptically evoked excitatory activity. When mPFC input intensity was below threshold for evoked spiking, the addition of BLA input produced the largest facilitation of evoked spiking, and the latency of the evoked spikes reflected the latency of the individual inputs. When mPFC inputs were stimulated at higher intensities, BLA-mediated facilitation was weaker, and the spike latency reflected only the mPFC input. Thus NAcc neurons integrate both the magnitude and timing of afferent synaptic activity, suggesting that NAcc neuron output is strongly dependent on the comparative magnitude of synaptic activity in its afferent structures. These interactions may be crucial integrative mechanisms that allow motivational and cognitive information to produce appropriate reward-directed actions.
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Lodge DJ, Grace AA. Gestational methylazoxymethanol acetate administration: a developmental disruption model of schizophrenia. Behav Brain Res 2009; 204:306-12. [PMID: 19716984 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.01.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2008] [Revised: 01/22/2009] [Accepted: 01/23/2009] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Animal models are critical for the study of psychiatric disorders since they allow the use of invasive methods that cannot be used for ethical reasons in humans. Currently there are three general models of schizophrenia; (i) those produced with acute pharmacological intervention (i.e. MK-801, ketamine, PCP and amphetamine), (ii) genetic models (i.e. mutant DISC-1, D(2)-R over expression) and (iii) developmental disruption models (i.e. MAM, neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion, isolation rearing, maternal infection). Here we review evidence for the validity of gestational (day 17) MAM administration as a developmental disruption rodent model of schizophrenia. Offspring from MAM-treated dams are reported to display deficits consistent with those observed in schizophrenia patients, including anatomical changes, behavioral deficits and altered neuronal information processing. Thus gestational MAM administration has been demonstrated to induce a pathodevelopmental process leading to neuroanatomical and behavioral phenotypes consistent with that observed in schizophrenia in humans.
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Heinz A, Beck A, Grüsser SM, Grace AA, Wrase J. Identifying the neural circuitry of alcohol craving and relapse vulnerability. Addict Biol 2009; 14:108-18. [PMID: 18855799 DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2008.00136.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 213] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
With no further intervention, relapse rates in detoxified alcoholics are high and usually exceed 80% of all detoxified patients. It has been suggested that stress and exposure to priming doses of alcohol and to alcohol-associated stimuli (cues) contribute to the relapse risk after detoxification. This article focuses on neuronal correlates of cue responses in detoxified alcoholics. Current brain imaging studies indicate that dysfunction of dopaminergic, glutamatergic and opioidergic neurotransmission in the brain reward system (ventral striatum including the nucleus accumbens) can be associated with alcohol craving and functional brain activation in neuronal systems that process attentional relevant stimuli, reward expectancy and experience. Increased functional brain activation elicited by such alcohol-associated cues predicted an increased relapse risk, whereas high brain activity elicited by affectively positive stimuli may represent a protective factor and was correlated with a decreased prospective relapse risk. These findings are discussed with respect to psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatment options.
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Zhang Y, Wang T, Ma A, Zhou X, Gui J, Wan H, Shi R, Huang C, Grace AA, Huang CLH, Trump D, Zhang H, Zimmer T, Lei M. Correlations between clinical and physiological consequences of the novel mutation R878C in a highly conserved pore residue in the cardiac Na+ channel. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2008; 194:311-23. [PMID: 18616619 PMCID: PMC2659387 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2008.01883.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Aim: We compared the clinical and physiological consequences of the novel mutation R878C in a highly conserved pore residue in domain II (S5-S6) of human, hNav1.5, cardiac Na+ channels. Methods: Full clinical evaluation of pedigree members through three generations of a Chinese family combined with SCN5A sequencing from genomic DNA was compared with patch and voltage-clamp results from two independent expression systems. Results: The four mutation carriers showed bradycardia, and slowed sino-atrial, atrioventricular and intraventricular conduction. Two also showed sick sinus syndrome; two had ST elevation in leads V1 and V2. Unlike WT-hNav1.5, whole-cell patch-clamped HEK293 cells expressing R878C-hNav1.5 showed no detectable Na+ currents (iNa), even with substitution of a similarly charged lysine residue. Voltage-clamped Xenopus oocytes injected with either 0.04 or 1.5 μg μL−1 R878C-hNav1.5 cRNA similarly showed no iNa, yet WT-hNav1.5 cRNA diluted to 0.0004–0.0008 ng μL−1resulted in expression of detectable iNa. iNa was simply determined by the amount of injected WT-hNav1.5: doubling the dose of WT-hNav1.5 cRNA doubled iNa. iNa amplitudes and activation and inactivation characteristics were similar irrespective of whether WT-hNav1.5 cRNA was given alone or combined with equal doses of R878C-hNav1.5 cRNA therefore excluding dominant negative phenotypic effects. Na+ channel function in HEK293 cells transfected with R878C-hNav1.5 was not restored by exposure to mexiletine (200 μm) and lidocaine (100 μm). Fluorescence confocal microscopy using E3-Nav1.5 antibody demonstrated persistent membrane expression of both WT and R878C-hNav1.5. Modelling studies confirmed that such iNa reductions reproduced the SSS phenotype. Conclusion: Clinical consequences of the novel R878C mutation correlate with results of physiological studies.
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Goddard CA, Ghais NS, Zhang Y, Williams AJ, Colledge WH, Grace AA, Huang CLH. Physiological consequences of the P2328S mutation in the ryanodine receptor (RyR2) gene in genetically modified murine hearts. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2008; 194:123-40. [PMID: 18419777 PMCID: PMC2628439 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2008.01865.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Aim To explore the physiological consequences of the ryanodine receptor (RyR2)-P2328S mutation associated with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). Methods We generated heterozygotic (RyR2p/s) and homozygotic (RyR2s/s) transgenic mice and studied Ca2+ signals from regularly stimulated, Fluo-3-loaded, cardiac myocytes. Results were compared with monophasic action potentials (MAPs) in Langendorff-perfused hearts under both regular and programmed electrical stimulation (PES). Results Evoked Ca2+ transients from wild-type (WT), heterozygote (RyR2p/s) and homozygote (RyR2s/s) myocytes had indistinguishable peak amplitudes with RyR2s/s showing subsidiary events. Adding 100 nm isoproterenol produced both ectopic peaks and subsidiary events in WT but not RyR2p/s and ectopic peaks and reduced amplitudes of evoked peaks in RyR2s/s. Regularly stimulated WT, RyR2p/s and RyR2s/s hearts showed indistinguishable MAP durations and refractory periods. RyR2p/s hearts showed non-sustained ventricular tachycardias (nsVTs) only with PES. Both nsVTs and sustained VTs (sVTs) occurred with regular stimuli and PES with isoproterenol treatment. RyR2s/s hearts showed higher incidences of nsVTs before but mainly sVTs after introduction of isoproterenol with both regular stimuli and PES, particularly at higher pacing frequencies. Additionally, intrinsically beating RyR2s/s showed extrasystolic events often followed by spontaneous sVT. Conclusion The RyR2-P2328S mutation results in marked alterations in cellular Ca2+ homeostasis and arrhythmogenic properties resembling CPVT with greater effects in the homozygote than the heterozygote demonstrating an important gene dosage effect.
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Goto Y, Grace AA. Limbic and cortical information processing in the nucleus accumbens. Trends Neurosci 2008; 31:552-8. [PMID: 18786735 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2008.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 262] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2008] [Revised: 08/11/2008] [Accepted: 08/12/2008] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens regulates goal-directed behaviors by integrating information from limbic structures and the prefrontal cortex. Here, we review recent studies in an attempt to provide an integrated view of the control of information processing in the nucleus accumbens in terms of the regulation of goal-directed behaviors and how disruption of these functions might underlie the pathological states in drug addiction and other psychiatric disorders. We propose a model that could account for the results of several studies investigating limbic-system interactions in the nucleus accumbens and their modulation by dopamine and provide testable hypotheses for how these might relate to the pathophysiology of major psychiatric disorders.
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Valenti O, Grace AA. Entorhinal cortex inhibits medial prefrontal cortex and modulates the activity states of electrophysiologically characterized pyramidal neurons in vivo. Cereb Cortex 2008; 19:658-74. [PMID: 18632738 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex receives multiple inputs from the hippocampal complex, which are thought to drive memory-guided behavior. Moreover, dysfunctions of both regions have been repeatedly associated with several psychiatric disorders. Therefore, understanding the interconnections and modulatory interactions between these regions is essential in evaluating their role in behavior and pathology. The effects of entorhinal cortex (EC) stimulation on the activity of identified medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) pyramidal neurons were examined using single-unit extracellular recordings and sharp-electrode intracellular recordings in anesthetized rats. Single-pulse electrical stimulation of EC induced a powerful inhibition in the majority of mPFC neurons examined during extracellular recording. Intracellular recording showed that EC stimulation evoked a complex synaptic response, in which the greater proportion of neurons exhibited excitatory postsynaptic events and/or a short lasting and a prolonged inhibitory postsynaptic response. Furthermore, stimulation of EC selectively produced an augmentation of the bistable up-down state only in the type 2 regular spiking neurons and in a subclass of nonintrinsic bursting neurons. Taken together, these data suggest that the potent inhibition observed following EC stimulation may mask a direct excitatory response within the mPFC which markedly potentiates the bistable states in a select subpopulation of mPFC pyramidal neurons.
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Jedema HP, Gold SJ, Gonzalez-Burgos G, Sved AF, Tobe BJ, Wensel T, Grace AA. Chronic cold exposure increases RGS7 expression and decreases alpha(2)-autoreceptor-mediated inhibition of noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons. Eur J Neurosci 2008; 27:2433-43. [PMID: 18461718 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06208.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Chronic stress exposure alters the central noradrenergic neurons originating from the locus coeruleus (LC). Previously, we demonstrated that evoked increases in the firing rate of LC neurons and their release of norepinephrine are enhanced following chronic cold exposure. In the present studies, we tested the hypothesis that reduced feedback inhibition of LC neurons might underlie these alterations in LC activity by examining the effect of alpha(2)-autoreceptor stimulation on LC activity in chronically stressed rats using in vivo and in vitro single unit recordings. Given that regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) proteins can impact the coupling of alpha(2)-autoreceptors to downstream signaling cascades, we also explored the expression of several RGS proteins following chronic stress exposure. We observed that the alpha(2)-autoreceptor-evoked inhibition of LC neurons was reduced and that the expression of RGS7 was increased following chronic stress exposure. Finally, we demonstrated that intracellular administration of RGS7 via patch clamp electrodes mimicked the stress-induced decrease in clonidine-evoked autoreceptor-mediated inhibition. These novel data provide a mechanism to explain how chronic stress-induced alterations in receptor coupling can result in changes in alpha(2)-autoreceptor control of noradrenergic function throughout the central nervous system, potentially leading to alterations in anxiety-related behaviors, and may suggest novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders.
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Bissière S, Plachta N, Hoyer D, Olpe HR, Grace AA, Cryan JF, Cryan JF. The rostral anterior cingulate cortex modulates the efficiency of amygdala-dependent fear learning. Biol Psychiatry 2008; 63:821-31. [PMID: 18155183 PMCID: PMC2880388 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2007] [Revised: 10/08/2007] [Accepted: 10/14/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and the amygdala consistently emerge from neuroimaging studies as brain regions crucially involved in normal and abnormal fear processing. To date, however, the role of the rACC specifically during the acquisition of auditory fear conditioning still remains unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate a possible top-down control of a specific rACC sub-region over amygdala activation during pavlovian fear acquisition. METHODS We performed excitotoxic lesions, temporal inactivation, and activation of a specific sub-region of the rACC that we identified by tracing studies as supporting most of the connectivity with the basolateral amygdala (r(Amy)-ACC). The effects of these manipulations over amygdala function were investigated with a classical tone-shock associative fear conditioning paradigm in the rat. RESULTS Excitotoxic lesions and transient inactivation of the r(Amy)-ACC pre-training selectively produced deficits in the acquisition of the tone-shock associative learning (but not context). This effect was specific for the acquisition phase. However, the deficit was found to be transient and could be overcome by overtraining. Conversely, pre-training transient activation of the r(Amy)-ACC facilitated associative learning and increased fear expression. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that a subregion of the rACC is key to gating the efficiency of amygdala-dependent auditory fear conditioning learning. Because r(Amy)-ACC inputs were confirmed to be glutamatergic, we propose that recruitment of this brain area might modulate overall basolateral amygdala excitatory tone during conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus concomitant processing. In the light of clinical research, our results provide new insight on the effect of inappropriate rACC recruitment during emotional events.
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Wong DF, Brasić JR, Singer HS, Schretlen DJ, Kuwabara H, Zhou Y, Nandi A, Maris MA, Alexander M, Ye W, Rousset O, Kumar A, Szabo Z, Gjedde A, Grace AA. Mechanisms of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission in Tourette syndrome: clues from an in vivo neurochemistry study with PET. Neuropsychopharmacology 2008; 33:1239-51. [PMID: 17987065 PMCID: PMC3696501 DOI: 10.1038/sj.npp.1301528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 164] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder with childhood onset characterized by motor and phonic tics. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often concomitant with TS. Dysfunctional tonic and phasic dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) metabolism may play a role in the pathophysiology of TS. We simultaneously measured the density, affinity, and brain distribution of dopamine D2 receptors (D2-R's), dopamine transporter binding potential (BP), and amphetamine-induced dopamine release (DA(rel)) in 14 adults with TS and 10 normal adult controls. We also measured the brain distribution and BP of serotonin 5-HT2A receptors (5-HT2AR), and serotonin transporter (SERT) BP, in 11 subjects with TS and 10 normal control subjects. As compared with controls, DA rel was significantly increased in the ventral striatum among subjects with TS. Adults with TS+OCD exhibited a significant D(2)-R increase in left ventral striatum. SERT BP in midbrain and caudate/putamen was significantly increased in adults with TS (TS+OCD and TS-OCD). In three subjects with TS+OCD, in whom D2-R, 5-HT2AR, and SERT were measured within a 12-month period, there was a weakly significant elevation of DA rel and 5-HT2A BP, when compared with TS-OCD subjects and normal controls. The current study confirms, with a larger sample size and higher resolution PET scanning, our earlier report that elevated DA rel is a primary defect in TS. The finding of decreased SERT BP, and the possible elevation in 5-HT2AR in individuals with TS who had increased DA rel, suggest a condition of increased phasic DA rel modulated by low 5-HT in concomitant OCD.
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Killeen MJ, Thomas G, Olesen SP, Demnitz J, Stokoe KS, Grace AA, Huang CLH. Effects of potassium channel openers in the isolated perfused hypokalaemic murine heart. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2008; 193:25-36. [PMID: 18005217 PMCID: PMC2343060 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2007.01773.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Aim We explored the anti-arrhythmic efficacy of K+ channel activation in the hypokalaemic murine heart using NS1643 and nicorandil, compounds which augment IKr and IKATP respectively. Methods Left ventricular epicardial and endocardial monophasic action potentials were compared in normokalaemic and hypokalaemic preparations in the absence and presence of NS1643 (30 μm) and nicorandil (20 μm). Results Spontaneously beating hypokalaemic hearts (3 mm K+) all elicited early afterdepolarizations (EADs) and episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT). Perfusion with NS1643 and nicorandil suppressed EADs and VT in 7 of 13 and five of six hypokalaemic hearts. Provoked arrhythmia studies using programmed electrical stimulation induced VT in all hypokalaemic hearts, but failed to do so in 7 of 13 and five of six hearts perfused with NS1643 and nicorandil respectively. These anti-arrhythmic effects were accompanied by reductions in action potential duration at 90% repolarization (APD90) and changes in the transmural gradient of repolarization, reflected in ΔAPD90. NS1643 and nicorandil reduced epicardial APD90 from 68.3 ± 1.1 to 56.5 ± 4.1 and 51.5 ± 1.5 ms, respectively, but preserved endocardial APD90 in hypokalaemic hearts. NS1643 and nicorandil thus restored ΔAPD90 from −9.6 ± 4.3 ms under baseline hypokalaemic conditions to 3.9 ± 4.1 and 9.9 ± 2.1 ms, respectively, close to normokalaemic values. Conclusion These findings demonstrate, for the first time, the anti-arrhythmic efficacy of K+ channel activation in the setting of hypokalaemia. NS1643 and nicorandil are anti-arrhythmic through the suppression of EADs, reductions in APD90 and restorations of ΔAPD90.
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Lisman JE, Coyle JT, Green RW, Javitt DC, Benes FM, Heckers S, Grace AA. Circuit-based framework for understanding neurotransmitter and risk gene interactions in schizophrenia. Trends Neurosci 2008; 16:e43-71. [PMID: 18395805 DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-5949.2010.00163.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Many risk genes interact synergistically to produce schizophrenia and many neurotransmitter interactions have been implicated. We have developed a circuit-based framework for understanding gene and neurotransmitter interactions. NMDAR hypofunction has been implicated in schizophrenia because NMDAR antagonists reproduce symptoms of the disease. One action of antagonists is to reduce the excitation of fast-spiking interneurons, resulting in disinhibition of pyramidal cells. Overactive pyramidal cells, notably those in the hippocampus, can drive a hyperdopaminergic state that produces psychosis. Additional aspects of interneuron function can be understood in this framework, as follows. (i) In animal models, NMDAR antagonists reduce parvalbumin and GAD67, as found in schizophrenia. These changes produce further disinhibition and can be viewed as the aberrant response of a homeostatic system having a faulty activity sensor (the NMDAR). (ii) Disinhibition decreases the power of gamma oscillation and might thereby produce negative and cognitive symptoms. (iii) Nicotine enhances the output of interneurons, and might thereby contribute to its therapeutic effect in schizophrenia.
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